Arcs: Short stories
by uzrfrndly
Summary: A series of arcing short stories prompted by readers. "Arcing" meaning alternate timelines and events.
1. Chapter 1

Arc 1 \- "Heat" of the moment

*Prompt

*"Is there a reason you're naked in my bed?" He wished he was being sarcastic right now.

She was, in fact, naked in his bed writhing and moaning. It wasn't all good moaning either, some of it sounded painful...

"Oh god, Nick! There you are!"

She seemed to slither off the bed, and he'd never seen her scurry around so fast. Problem was, she scurried right up to him and went straight for his belt buckle.

"Have you lost your goddamn mind fluff!?"

He kept batting away her hands as she feverishly lashed out at the only barrier between her and his privates.

She kept muttering. "Please... please..."

"Hey stop it!"

He'd had enough of this nonsense, and with his superior size, he lifted her straight up and away from him.

She tried to reach down, and it looked like she might be trying to plant a kiss on him, but she kept sticking her tongue out.

"I'm gonna call the cops if you don't stop... wait." He looked perplexed. "Aren't I the cops? But I didn't learn anything about this in the academy..."

"Nick I'm begging you!" She was like a wild animal, thrashing around.

"I don't care how hard you beg, this is ridiculous!"

"It hurts Nick!" She didn't look ok, now that he got a good look at her.

He sat down with her in front of him on the bed and essentially bear-hugged her from behind as a makeshift prison.

"I'm not doing anything until you tell me what's going on!"

"It's heat, Nick..." She was panting hard and trying to catch her breath. "I usually lock myself up for the week, but it came on so fast!"

She started rubbing her butt against his crotch, and he groaned half-heartedly. She managed to take his moment of weakness to wriggle out of his grip, and make a quick one-eighty before pouncing at him like some sort of tiger on the hunt.

Nick was already on high alert, he used the bed as a springboard to jump right over top of her.

They crashed around her apartment for at least ten minutes, knocking over almost anything that wasn't much heavier that they were. Eventually, they were both out of breath.

As the huffed and puffed, Nick looked around for his nearest exit and tried to come up with an escape plan. He'd grabbed a chair to keep her at bay and he wasn't afraid to swing it around.

"Nick, please... I'm desperate!"

"How could you possibly expect me to say yes!?" He was still completely out of breath, they both were. "You'd probably rip it off!"

"I don't want to do it with anyone else!..."

She was starting to cry, she looked as desperate as she sounded.

Nick really started to believe she was in a lot of pain, he didn't know what to do.

"I have to do it this time, Nick I can't put it off again I'm in so much pain and my body is... burning... up."

Suddenly she passed out and hit the floor with a loud thud. She was drenched in sweat and her face was still twisted up with pain.

Nick cautiously lowered his lion tamer chair and slowly made his way over to her. He reached down, ready to bolt at a moment's notice, and checked her forehead... She wasn't kidding, it felt like someone had just extinguished a fire on her head.

He scooped her up and set her down on the bed...

He spent almost four hours dabbing a wet rag on her forehead and taking her temperature. Until eventually she slowly opened her eyes.

"Nick?"

He continued to wipe the sweat off of her forehead and didn't say anything.

"Oh gosh... did I hurt you!?"

"...No, but you were close. Good thing I came along when I did."

She looked ashamed of herself, she'd never explained her "heat" to him, and she almost irreparably damaged their relationship.

Then he took her by surprise...

"Next time this happens remember to be gentle... and give me a call."

* * *

Arc 2 -

*Prompt

Judy had been scolding Nick, very heatedly, about his constantly asking her to "marry him" as she drug him into a supply closet and slammed the door behind her.

He was always sarcastically making ridiculous proposals to her in front of god and the entire precinct, and she wanted it to stop... little did she know that in her rage she had just dug her own grave.

*"Looks like we'll be trapped for awhile..."

He couldn't seem to be happier about the situation as Judy pounded desperately on the door trying to get someone's attention.

"Y'know... we could totally make out right now."

She reluctantly gave up on the door and turned around to sit against it. She didn't even acknowledge Nick's blatant advances on her, knowing that he would never go through with it.

"So what is it you DON'T like about me?"

She was tired of this before they came in, and it was getting less tolerable by the second.

"Nick... if you don't stop, so help me I'm gonna-"

"Kiss me?... ok." He squatted down on his haunches to get down to her level. Then he puckered his lips and closed his eyes.

She balled up her fist and cocked it back... but then sighed and put it down.

"... I can't even remember where all this nonsense started."

"What, Me being madly in love with you?"

She briefly considered retracting her knuckle sandwich, but it was hard when he was always wairing his signature grin when he messed with her.

"It stopped being funny a LONG time ago Nick... when are you gonna give up?"

Nick momentarily let his grief reflect on his face before taking a deep breath and standing back up.

He took a leisurely stroll around the tiny janitor supply closet before coming to a stop back in front of her. He scratched the top of his snout, seemingly deep in thought.

"Let me ask you this..."

She looked annoyed beyond measure as she prepared herself for another barrage of satirical nonsense.

"Why does it bother you so much?"

"You can't be serious?"

He gave a lazy shrug and kept watching her intently waiting for her answer. She rolled her eyes and folded her legs under her to get comfortable.

"Because you won't stop. I know you're not serious, but for some reason you keep thinking that you're getting a rise out of me even though I go out of my way to show you that it doesn't."

"And when did I ever say I wasn't serious?"

She scoffed in disbelief.

"Even as I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you, you still won't stop?"

He looked sullen and scratched his wrist before trying again.

"You really think I would keep something like this going THAT long carrots?"

"I don't know Nick... you tell me."

Things went quiet for a moment as Nick turned around and scratched the back of his neck out of frustration.

"Don't you think maybe..." He turned around with a pleading expression and made sure that she could see it. "You're just going out of your way to convince yourself that I'm not serious?"

She took a second to think about it. She'd never thought of it that way before, but eventually, she shrugged it off with a laugh.

"I seriously doubt that Nick."

Nick had had enough. He knelt down in front of her and looked her straight in the eyes. Before he started he checked the knob to make sure it was still locked.

"Listen to me... Judy."

She got a deeply concerned look about her as if she was honestly worried he might try to do something despicable to her.

"I don't call you Judy a lot... right? You wanna know why?"

She nodded slowly.

"It's so you know that when I call you by name... I'm being serious for once."

She shook her head, she was so confused.

"Judy Hopps, I'm in love with you."

He looked her dead in the eyes, as serious as a heart attack. Which Judy felt like she might be on her way to.

Without warning, he grabbed her and kissed her. Not gentle, hard. He really put his back into it.

Judy finally pushed him off and gasped for breath... before slapping him as hard as she could. But then she grabbed his head and returned his serious look.

"I'll literally kill you if this is all a joke..."

He got that signature grin again.

"I'm ok with that."

Who cares how long they were in that closet...

* * *

Writer's notes: I want you to know that I (very) briefly considered going romance anime on this one complete with the use of "senpai"... but then I came to my senses.

I'll add more as I write them.


	2. Chapter 2

Warning: This fic gets a little dirty. However, not too dirty. Still rated T.

* * *

Arc 3

Prelude,

This is a very different story to that of which you are accustomed. There are no dreams came true here, no awe of a beautiful utopia, or triumph over adversity. In this story, the city is a merciless and all consuming wilderness. It stole all of her hopes and aspirations and took her for everything she had. Destitute and alone, she found the only man in the city who seemed willing to help her for nothing in return. A savvy con artist who was once like her. It must've been what he'd seen in her that made him willing to proceed so unguarded with her for no reward.

But all the same, he did help her. He took her in and showed her how to live in a savage and unforgiving jungle of a city. Why didn't she just return home? Well, that should be obvious, she was just too proud. As far as her parents were concerned she was a cop and she intended to keep it that way. So, for now, she was with Nick.

What happened to her dreams? Why wasn't she able to become a cop like she always wanted? That story is just too painful to repeat...

But who am I to say it was so bad? She met someone she could've never got to know otherwise. A man who built her up and kept her fading spirit alive. One of those friends you can meet only once in a lifetime and most are never fortunate enough to get that chance. It wasn't great from the beginning. She avoided and feared him, tried to chase him away. He felt so bad for her that he persisted in trying to help her, going out of his way to make her talk to him... and now she could never see herself without him.

They're just two lost souls trying to get by in an unforgiving world.

* * *

"Multiplying mode" by Uzrfrndly

In the back of Finnick's van, in the heat of Sahara Square just past noon, the three of them prepared for what would be a real-life heist...

"So, you go in and smooth talk the teller while I pretend to "browse." Judy saw it as a real life heist because she put one hundred percent into literally everything she did. Odds were she was being a bit overzealous. "Then when he reaches in to show you a ring, I'll duck behind the counter and start cracking the lock..."

"Hold on." Nick, on the other hand, had been doing this a long time. He knew how far south something like this could go and how fast it could happen. "You aren't the star of "Ocean's eleven," this isn't a "heist," and you seriously need you to calm down for a minute."

Judy looked annoyed as Nick rubbed his eyes with an exasperated sigh. She referred to it as "cracking the lock," which was a dead giveaway that she wasn't approaching this realistically. Because, realistically, she would be using a copied key Nick had made a connection of his. They couldn't "crack" any locks because that would be evidence.

The cameras in the jewelry store weren't currently functioning. How did Nick know that? Because he knew a guy who worked there. He'd told him the cameras needed to be serviced for about a week now, but the owner was a bit of cheapskate. He figured as long as they were still mounted to the walls would-be-criminals would be deterred all the same. It was the only reason he even considered doing this in the first place.

"You gotta' lighten up boss... if we're gonna break the law we might as well have fun with it. I mean a year ago I never would've imagined I'd be doing a heist, but here I am and it's pretty cool, to be honest." She wore a self-satisfied grin.

"Would you STOP calling him boss... it's pissing me off." Finnick had known Nick long enough to appreciate that he didn't live up to the high standards Judy held him to. He wasn't a boss, he was just Nick.

"Alright everybody shut up." Nick broke up the debate with a wave of his arms and smoothed back his hair before continuing. "I need YOU to cut the Ocean's eleven crap..." He pointed at Judy. "I need YOU to help me pull this thing through..." he pointed at Finnick. "And I need ME to be the boss Judy dreams about sleeping with..."

"Yea! That's the frickin' spirit bo- ... what!?" She'd completely missed it until the last moment. Nick and Finnick enjoyed the joke for a moment as Judy pouted with her arms crossed.

When the howling laughter of comedic relief finally came to a close, they went over their plan one more time. This time, they left the "lock cracking" Ocean's eleven nonsense out of it and got down to the nitty-gritty. Once everyone was ready, their plan was set into motion...

...

"Jesus fluff, you can't NOT overdo anything can you!?"

Despite all of their careful planning it had gone sour, just as Nick expected it would. Maybe it was the jet black jumpsuit Judy decided to wear, or maybe it was when she decided to start humming the theme to "Mission Impossible," but either way it went south pretty quick. They were in a tiny supply shed in someone's backyard. It couldn't have been any bigger than a phone booth, it was intended only for a few rakes and shovels.

"I'm sorry boss!" She was squirming to find a spot she could sit in for awhile without making too much noise. "I was so stupid..."

"Would you get your ears out of my face!?" He growled.

"I'm sorry!"

After several more minutes of squirming and slumping around inside the shed, Judy had to make a suggestion...

"I can't get into a good position boss... What if I...?" She wiggled one more time, and this time, it was into his lap. "...There we go." She sighed.

For Nick, and it should be obvious, this was far from an ideal position.

"Uh, no... this isn't gonna' work for me fluff." He tried to be aloof in his rejection of her new favored position in the shed. In reality, however, he was a nervous wreck.

"What? Why?" She was completely oblivious, too naive to even consider the possibility that he could be aroused by her.

"Because I don't want your little bunny butt in my lap!"

"Little!?" For whatever reason she wasn't offended by the bunny part or the butt part. "I'll have you know that my butt is perfectly proportioned to the rest of me!"

"Well, I'm not fixing to find out so move!" In his head, he was imagining his mother in his lap just to keep himself distracted.

"Alright, what if I just-..." She tried to wrench herself into an awkward standing position, with very little success.

Her chest was smashed into his face.

"MMGFF!"

She was trying to shimmy around to get off to one side of him, but her jumpsuit was getting caught on a hook. Nick had tried to talk her out of her wardrobe choices, but in the end, he honestly thought that she just looked too good in it to tell her to take it off.

"Sorry, just gimme' a-" With one last shake she lost her footing and landed hard back in his lap.

Nick howled with pain. She'd landed perfectly onto his groin, and at the moment, he was at about half mast.

"OH cripes! Are you ok boss?"

He covered his mouth and took several muffled gasps for air. After the pain subsided he sighed and settled back into his spot. "Yea..."

"I guess we're gonna have to stay this way..." She said it as if it just couldn't be helped.

Nick was still very unnerved by this situation. He couldn't sit there and imagine his naked mother for hours if that's what it took for the heat to die down. His mind was racing to come up with an excuse for her to try again. "How are you ok with this!?" It was the only thing that came to mind.

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you not realize that I'm a man?" He asked it as a serious question because he had doubts that she actually saw him as one. Momentarily, however, his question was answered, and not in the way he expected. Even thought the shed was dark he could see her starting to go red.

"... Yes, and?"

"..."

He was thrown off guard by this uncharacteristic display. For a few minutes, he was at a loss for words. It stayed quiet and painfully awkward. Nick got his mind off of it by reading the label on one of the rakes they were smashed against. After he had no more warnings about choking hazards from broken spokes to read, he decided to try and clear the fog.

"It's your fault you know..." He sighed.

"What?" She hadn't expected him to speak.

"It's no wonder this city took you for a ride. I mean... a black jumpsuit? ... You wore a black jumpsuit to a robbery?"

He received visual confirmation that she was aware of her foolish decisions, she looked humiliated. "I know, I overdo everything... that's just how I am. Judy Hopps, hopeless dreamer... and professional idiot. If you hadn't come along when you did I'd-" She had to stop to appreciate the truth in her statement. "I'd probably be in a box somewhere... begging for change."

They'd never really spoken much about how they came together. When it happened, Nick saw a lot of himself in her. It must have been what ultimately led him to take her in. He was trying to give that scared little ranger scout in him a second chance through her vicariously. He always figured she would be a mooch for awhile until she was able to fend for herself, but that was never the case. She was eager to help him in any way she could... even if she was excitable, which usually just led to trouble for him. Even so, it had been fun. Since she came along it was less of a chore. He'd been laughing more than he ever remembered, and he didn't feel... lonely... anymore.

"Hey... carrots." He cupped her cheek to turn her head towards him. "Nobody deserves the bad deal you got, not even you."

With what looked like a single laugh a smile spread across her face, then relaxed into a gentle grin. She closed her eyes and nuzzled her cheek into his hand. Suddenly it became strange again... she's not supposed to do that...

With a rapid snowball effect, Nick was sucked back into Judy being in his lap. The short respite of a caring conversation among friends seemed miles away and hours ago. Right now, he'd noticed her smell.

It must've been when she nuzzled his hand, it had'to've released some kind of pheromone or something. He didn't know where it came from but it was... intoxicating. He couldn't get it out of his head and he was starting to sweat.

Judy hadn't noticed yet, she was still comfortably nuzzled into his hand without a care in the world. It couldn't have been a worse place for her to be. As she relaxed her ears came down, and one of them dragged right across Nick's snout and over his nose.

'Oh god... it's-...it's soft.' He thought. 'Nothing is this soft...and I sleep in a feather bed!'

As his heart rate slowly escalated, Judy slowly opened her eyes. It only took a moment for her to notice something peculiar in her lap.

"Uh... HELL-O! What is this now!?"

During their prolonged silence, Nick had forgotten to distract himself with baseball, his grandmother, or something else to that effect. The flag in his lap had been officially raised.

Judy seemed to be tickled pink by this...

"Hahaha... you idiot!" She giggled.

"What!?" Nick was officially offended by her blatant disregard of his manhood. "I could take advantage of you in here you know!?"

"As if!" She scoffed. "I trust you boss... and I'm flattered, but you're just not that bold..." It almost seemed as though she was actually enticing him to do something to her.

This pissed Nick off to no end. In his head, the debate was already under way...

'We're only here because you wore that stupid jumpsuit... which I love.'

His heart was at full speed now, his throat was bone dry and he couldn't catch his breath.

'I can't let her get away with saying shit like that... we're in a supply shed in someone's yard it's not like she can run away... OH JESUS! I'm a rapist!'

He shook his head violently and slapped his cheeks with both hands.

"... Nick?" She started to look concerned now.

'When are you gonna get another opportunity like this? She's practically begging for it! ... I'm a man dammit!'

With that last push of logic, he'd committed to it. In one quick and fluid motion, he darted forward and bit down on her chest. Not too hard, he just wanted to prove a point.

The sharp breath she took in from the unexpected shock was a typically offended gasp... but the breath she exhaled said something entirely different.

"Aaaahhhhnnnn..." It was downright dirty.

He let go and prepared to thoroughly enjoy her performance of humiliation, but what he got instead struck down his confidence like a bolt lightning takes down a tree.

"Why'd you stop!?"

"You..." He was dumbfounded. "You can't be serious?"

"Like hell I can't!" She pulled the elastic collar of her jumpsuit down, exposing her neck. "Bite me again Nick! Right here, a little harder this time!"

"So now I'm Nick huh?" It was a masterfully executed dodge, intended to distract her long enough for her to realize where they were and what they were doing... it failed gloriously. It was like she didn't hear it at all.

"There's gotta be something you like too right?" She was breathing heavy and feeling around his midsection. She was still lucid, but she was in "multiplying mode." "Oh god, you don't like it too right?"

"... What?" He had no idea what she was saying anymore.

He got a quick answer, though, she whipped forward and started nibbling on his neck.

"Uhhhhahaha...ha..." He had a horrible nervous laugh. He quickly found her shoulders and started pushing her away. She wasn't making it easy, though, she was fighting to stay there. Eventually, he got her back up into a sitting position but the relief was short-lived.

She found the top button of her jumpsuit and ripped the whole thing wide open. Her chest was completely exposed... Nick looked like a little boy who was being sat on by a bully, who was about to beat him up for his lunch money.

"Uh... haha...ha..." There was that nervous laugh again. "H-hey... where'd carrots go?"

"Are we gonna' do this or not!?" She was having no more of his indecisiveness. She aggressively grabbed his jaw and pried it open. As he let out a garbled whimper she made her intentions known. "You're a man right!? Then stop whining and show me!" She pulled his jaw towards her stomach and forced it shut.

Nick was very close to allowing himself to cry in front of her just to get her to stop. She was manhandling him, making him feel about as far from manly as he possibly could. Just as he was about to force out a tear for the sake of his own safety, a warm and tingling euphoria resonated through his body. It was slow like ripples on the surface of water, but eventually, it reached the tips of his fingers and toes, causing him to involuntarily stretch out like getting out of a car after a hundred mile road trip.

He didn't notice with his eyes forced shut, but she'd grabbed his cheeks and pointed his face towards her. That resonating euphoria came from her lips... pressed against his. Unexpectedly, at least to him, it immediately calmed him down. He wasn't afraid anymore.

She was still in primal multiplying mode but he was finally able to get her attention. "Judy."

"What!?"

The serious look he gave her successfully completed the distraction he'd attempted earlier, and her expression instantly softened. He pulled her in slow, making sure she understood that it was time to slow down. When their lips met again it was meaningful. No longer in a lust fueled rage, she slowed down and savored the moment of tenderness.

Fortunately for the reluctant author, their passionate affair came to an abrupt end at an appropriate moment.

"You goddamn kids! How many times've I told you my broom shed ain't no make-out spot!" An old badger had swung open the supply shed. Apparently this wasn't the first time something like this had happened in it. "Get outa' my yard!"

They laughed harder than they'd ever laughed before as they sprinted away from the enraged old badger, hobbling after them as fast as his old legs would carry him. It was especially hilarious for Judy to watch Nick try and run, bowlegged, with a full erection. Suffice it to say but they got away...

The end.


	3. Chapter 3

Arc 4: "An elaborate ruse"

* * *

Rumors are spread, and accusations fly... it's the nature of any social structure. Be it animal or man the outcome is always the same. Enternainment, regardless of cost, or to whom the bill is sent, is the nature of most desired information. Teach me something new while a clap with joy they might say. Allow me to purpotrate as a bystander...

"Mayor Grey! Christine Gunning from Savana Daily, is it true that your husband had an affair!?" She cried, just one among many microphones.

"No, of course not." An air of professional calm hung over every move she made. "I'm not sure why this is even an issue Mrs. Gunning, and speaking frankly, I'm a bit offended by the question."

Three short years after moving to the city, Judy was mayor. She was that good. It allowed her to help in ways never possible as a cop, she must've been dreaming too small. Now she had the means to really make or break the immediate world and she was hell-bent on making it perfect.

"Then where is your husband, Mr. Grey!? Our sources report that he was seen leaving your estate with an unidentified female... can you explain!?" Unfazed by the ruthless nature of her scandalous accusations, she shouted it as if it was a conversation with her stylist at a noizy salon.

There was an involuntary twitch, but a professional can reighn in any loss of controll. "I can only assume that these are baseless accusations set forth by my constituents." She took a deep breath before she did what she had been dreading. "I'll turn the floor over to my husband for further questioning."

As Nick approached the podium his nerves tried to undermine his carfully constructed calm. It had been two and a half months since he'd agreed to be an alibi for his wayward spirit of an employer, and truth be told he'd been more than apprehensive about it from the beggining.

He was an intern at city hall, and his mentor hadn't been the mayor, but her secretary Bellwether. How he'd managed to be dragged from secretary's intern to mayor's phony husband is a phenominon even he couldn't exlpain.

When she touched his hand as he passed her it relieved the tension from his brow, and restored the professional calm that she'd been hammering into his tutoring since the day they'd met.

"I can assure you that I have never cheated on my wife, and to those responsible for these slanderous accusations I say this... leave my family alone. Neither I nor my wife Judy have done anything to merit this abuse. Please stop this now, while we can still heal from the damage you've already caused." He breathed a sigh of relief. He'd perfectly recited his line without the smallest implication that he might be lying, which he was.

The sea of cameras flooded him with light, and the buzzing roar of fun starved vultures erupted in front of them. They were all howling for a shred of drama... something to feed their young watching at home.

Let's take a few steps back, to before she moved from her humble little hometown of bunnyburrow...

She'd always had a courageous personality but life has a way of hammering down the nail that sticks out farthest. There was a boy there, Gideon Grey, who tried to be that hammer for reasons he didn't understand.

It served only to fortify her iron will, and as they grew older together she learned to appreciate him for it. He, like all bullies, eventually grew to learn why he was so angry. Once he'd come to terms with his insecurites it wasn't difficult for him to make amends with the girl he'd made a victim out of.

The rest happened purely by the hand of nature itself. Adolecense shifts young minds as easily as the passing of winter into fall, and for one reason or another they fell in love. By age seventeen they'd already run away to get married and moved to the city to chase their dreams together. Hers, to make the world a better place for everyone. And his, to watch her achieve that dream.

"Yes... you there." He pointed at a beaver who seemed least agressive in the crowd.

"So, Mr. Grey, you are stating for the record that you did NOT leave your home with an unidentified woman?" It carried a suspicioun the they were not trying to keep secret.

She'd been recounting all of those fond memories with Gideon when she was pulled out of it by that reporter. She'd thought that her heart could sink no lower... until she heard that question. Distraction was the only comfort she'd given herself since the day her husband left her. What they were saying was all true. He'd been cheating on her with a fox... his excuse?

It played like a sad melody through her head...

"We were young and stupid Judy... I want my own life now. You've got your career, and what do I got? Nothin'... Yer' never home, and when you are you don't want nothin' to do with me."

"%#*%+ #!"

She couldn't even remember what she'd said back, only that she'd screamed it, and the overwhelming fear that had consumed her to be losing her best friend.

"I know... it was good Judy, what we had. And I'm gonna' miss you... but I gotta' do this. I want kids some day... and as horrible as it sounds you can't give em' to me."

"..."

"I love you kiddo..." She could vividly recall the guilty look on his face. "... But I met someone."

"... You're cheating on me!?"

No matter how strong the constitution, even steel has a breaking point. It was too much to handle.

She croaked it up, that horribly painful sob, she couldn't stop it. She clasped a desperate hand over he mouth and buried her eyes with the other. As she was being consumed by grief, she was suddenly pulled out of the darkness.

The only way to stop a nightmare is to wake up...

"Now listen here!" It was Nick, and he was angry. "Who the hell do you think you are!? You think I don't love my wife!?"

Her mouth hung open, her eyes wide with disbelief. Tears still came, but she didn't care anymore.

"How dare you!? How dare you accuse me of that... I would die for her!" As if he'd forgotten where he was, or the situation he was in.

The next thing that had come out of Gideons mouth was betrayal, but it coincided with this exact moment, where Nick had said what she'd desperately prayed Gideon would've said back then.

"I've never heard you tell the story about how much safer this stupid city is since she showed up, or that new hospital we desperately needed!" He was in a blind fit of rage, no longer thinking about the consequences of his actions.

"I mean look at her!" He glanced over at her, taking in all of the pain she was in only drove his conviction to defend her with all of his might. "She's beautiful AND strong!? It's not even fair! What kind of moron would pick some loose broad over... her!?"

He motioned his arm towards her as if displaying her on a pedistal. She was so tired of being "professional" every hour of every day. That felt so good to hear, she could stop it, and she didn't want to. She started laughing... she just couldn't help it.

The reporter who'd originally asked the question was visually remorseful, which was so uncommon for them. "Mr. Grey... I'm sorry, for my hand in all of this. If it's alright with you I can talk to out lawyers and see if they can get rid of some of this quote on quote "evidence."

"That's not necessary." Without him noticing, Judy had crossed the platform and stood beside Nick. She'd nestled herself right into his unoccupied arm. "I'd like to announce my retirement."

The crowd of reporters erupted in confusion. Without being called on, the beaver from before made his statement above the noise. "You'd planned on restarting the farmers market... and rebuilding the old business district in tundra town... are you officially walking away from all of that!?" It looked like he may have been thinking that this was somehow his fault.

"That's not important right now, it just isn't in my plan anymore." She gazed up at him, saying all of the thanks she could never put into words through her radiant smile. "I had to rework it a little bit, I've got a new goal now."


	4. Chapter 4

This is a super fluffy story based on a picture: "summer with the wildehopps fam" by sami01 on tumblr.

Arc 5: "Summer with family"

* * *

It was perfectly quiet, and Nick was having a good dream…

It was hard for him to remember now, but he thought they were at the beach. Toes in the sand and a pretty girl by his side, maybe it was Judy but he couldn't remember.

"Nick, it's time to get up!"

His eyes barely opened. They darted around his blurry room and nightstand before they came crashing back down all too easily.

"I mean it Nick, come on!"

"Leave me alone!" He shouted, but only as loud as an angry grumble.

It was quiet again, but only for a minute. He didn't go all the way back to sleep. He waited, assuming that there would be more demands shortly to follow.

Sure enough, he heard whispering from out in the hall. It was impossible to make out from here, but he braced himself when he heard her shout "go get him!"

"Oof!" It knocked the wind out him.

"Get up, get up, get up, get up!" It was his son, he'd jumped onto his stomach and started bouncing up and down like it was an inflatable exercise ball.

"My only son… why have you forsaken me?" He was being melodramatic, with his wrist draped over his forehead and a pitiful look on his face.

"The beach!" That was all he said.

"Uh…" Nick needed more information than that. He looked around until he spotted Judy in the doorway, looking radiant in her lilac sundress.

"Don't look at me like that… sweetheart," she stopped to punctuate the last word with a sarcastic grin. "You mentioned the beach, and now he wants to go."

He rolled his eyes and looked back at his son. He was grinning from ear to ear, shaking with anticipation.

"We can't go to the beach," he sighed.

"Huh?… Why!?" His son, Christopher, looked like he was about to cry.

"Because sharks are at the beach." Nick did his best to look serious, but he was enjoying this on the inside. "It's FAR too dangerous."

Christopher crossed his arms in a huff, and pouted with all of his might.

Nick glanced over at Judy and gave her a wink. She scoffed and crossed her arms as well, but she was wearing a grin of her own, and Nick assumed that she must be enjoying this as much as he was.

"Christopher?" Judy raise an eyebrow at Nick, he had a bad feeling about that. "You wanna know how I get your daddy to do what I want?"

"No, no, no carrots!" He glared at her. "Don't even think about it, it's too early for this!"

Christopher nodded, wairing a sly grin. He must have been aware that this was going to be very embarrasing for his father.

"Say," -she leaned forward and puffed out her lip in a sad "puppy dog" face- "Pleaaase daddy… I wuv you."

Nick drug his claws across his face in agony. "God! It's like nails on a chalk board, or- or- dragging a dry hand over a balloon so it makes that," -he cringed- "horrible screeching noise…"

"Please daddy!" Christopher had resumed his bouncing on Nick's stomach. "I love you!"

"Fine!"

"See, Christopher?" Judy wore one of the most smug grins of self satisfaction Nick had ever seen, for a moment he figured she'd surpassed him for the title of king smug. "I told you it works, every time…"

Nick was not pleased in the slightest, he decided there was no way he could let her off easy this time.

"Hahaha," his laugh was fake and exagerated. "That's right pal…"

He looked at Judy, who was starting to look worried and for good reason.

"When you see gramps this weekend teach him that trick. Tell him all he has to say is "please daddy," cuz' that's what mamma says aaaalll the time at home."

Christopher looked confused, Judy however, was mortified.

"No Christopher! Don't you ever say that to gampa!" She was fire truck red, and it was hard to tell if she was embarrassed, or boiling with rage.

…

The car ride wasn't as pleasant as it could've been. Nick supposed that it was to be expected after what he'd just done.

She didn't say much when they got there either. Other than "don't forget your sunblock Christopher" or "hold my hand Christopher."

She didn't say anything to Nick…

"Hey pal," he had a tendancy to worry. "Don't go in the water without me!"

"Oh Nick…" It looked like she'd softened up a bit, and it was the fist thing she'd said to him since they'd left. "Let him play, look at how much fun he's having."

"Believe it or not carrots, the ocean actually CAN kill you… I wasn't joking about that."

She only rolled her eyes and spread out their blanket. Nick watched Christopher like a hawk while Judy dug through the canvas bag they'd brought with them, pulling out some of his toys and a thermas filled with iced tea.

"Come on buddy. Come get a popsicle, or build a sandcastle… something safe!"

"Leave him alone Nick." She patted the blanket next to her. "Get in here."

She tilted her head and smiled. Reluctantly, Nick took his eyes off of his son long enough to sit down and help himself to her iced tea.

"Did you ever think it would turn out this way?" She looked troubled by the question.

"What," he was rummaging through their canvas bag. "You mean at the beach?"

"No Nick," she grumbled. She folded her knees to her chest and hugged her legs. "I mean… us. Did you ever think we would end up together like this?"

"Nope."

She shot him an angry scowl, which he laughed off. After a moment of silence he could see that she was still bothered by it.

"But," he sighed. "I wouldn't sell it for a million bucks."

He glanced at her again to see that she was smiling now, watching Christopher play in the waves. She nestled herself into his armpit and sighed, "me neither."

"I always knew you'd make a good father Nick." She pined over her iced tea. "Because of how we met, I found out it was all an act, but I guess it was just too convincing… y'know?"

"…"

"You remember when we met… right?" She looked up at him with a face full of innocence, seemingly inviting him to tell her a romantic story about their first meeting.

"Of course," he sighed. "How could I ever forget? Here comes this cute little meter maid to the rescue, and I thought…" he stopped to grin at her. "I wonder how much money she's got?"

She wasted no time in jabbing him in the ribs. "Aa-how! Could everybody stop hitting me today!?"

"Nicholas Hopps-Wilde admit it," she looked frustrated, but then she grinned. "You wuv meeee."

He looked away.

"I'm quite fond of you, yes."

"Damnit Nick!"

He quickly looked to see if Christopher was listening. "Hey, language!"

"Tell me you love me right now!" She was definately annoyed, enough so that she wasn't holding back any of her anger.

"What do you want from me fluff, you want me to sign a contract that says "I'm happy?"

"I want you to tell me you love me!"

He couldn't help but glance towards Christopher again before he did something he didn't want him to see.

"Ok carrots where's that contract- oh! Here it is, ladidadida!" He pretended to sign a fake contract on her chest. "There, you happy now!?"

She gave a silent, offended gasp at essentially being groped in public.

"Almost Nick, but I'll feel alot better once we get it noterized! Oh don't worry, I'll get it! Lalalala!" She angrily 'signed' his lap.

"Would you knock it off!? Our CHILD is right over-" he was interupted by a snort of laughter. He'd just realized why she'd 'signed' his crotch, and he had to admit that it was pretty funny. "Alright… you win."

It didn't loo like she was convinced. She sat with her arms crossed, tapping one of them impatiently.

"Fine… I- love you… I guess." He couldn't loo at her. He didn't know exactly why, but, he hated mushy stuff like that. He waited for another protest considering he'd added "i guess" to the end of it, but none came.

"C'mon," she stood up with a chipper skip and turned to him with a vibrant smile. "Let's go play with Christopher."

"Aren't you gonna'… whine at all?" He really hadn't expected her to be ok with "I love you I guess."

It looked like she was thinking about it for a minute, "good enough for me Nick, besides, we have a family now, it's not like you could get away THAT easy." She shrugged and skipped away.

When they got home they all had sunburn, but it was a memory they'd never forget.


End file.
